Six Must-Have Kitchen Features
A kitchen remodel in Long Island offers you the opportunity to update the hard-working room with the latest products and the hottest new trends in style and functionality. From must-haves that allow your kitchen to look like more like other living areas in your home to upgrades that make preparing meals and perfecting recipes easier, these six fashionable kitchen features are sure to make the heart of your home a more stylish and serviceable space.
1. Clever Cabinet Built-Ins
When custom cabinets are part of your renovation, you can have them fitted out with built-ins that not only banish clutter from your countertops but put everything that you need within easy reach as well. Cabinets that include space-saving details like pull-out shelves, roll-out drawers and organizers are just the beginning. Today’s clever built-ins include flip-down sponge holders in the panel in front of the sink, drop-down spice racks and dedicated racks for both dirty and clean dishtowels.
2. Fashionable Islands
Perfect when entertaining family and friends, a free-standing island topped in a stylish material is a definite must-have feature for the heart of your home. Homeowners in Long Island value them not only for the extra countertop and cabinet space that they provide but also for the visual border that they establish between the room and adjacent living areas. The latest trend in island fashions is to create a “waterfall” effect with stone slabs that appear to fold over the end of the countertop and reach to the floor. To highlight the artful design, hang a trio of eye-catching pendant lights overhead.
3. Appliance Garages
If your small appliances are competing for space on your countertops, look for the latest kitchen features and designs in appliance garages. New styles blend in more seamlessly with backsplashes and cabinetry than their earlier shuttered counterparts and are easier to keep clean and sanitary too. Appliance garages allow you to keep frequently used gadgets at arm’s reach without disrupting the room’s unified style or taking up valuable real estate on your countertops.
4. Home on the Range
For sheer style as well as functionality, a smooth-topped cooktop is definitely worth the investment. Look for models with kitchen features that make the appliance safe and easier to use, such as hot-surface warning lights that help protect your family from burns. Ranges with high-power heating elements can bring a pot of water to boil in a flash and are ideal for making quick and healthy stir-fry meals. When it comes to style, consider an oversized hood crafted in gleaming metal. A great hood will not only provide the ventilation you need to keep unpleasant cooking smells at bay but will create a focal point that’s sure to attract admiring glances as well.
5. Hidden Outlets
A kitchen equipped with multiple electrical outlets gives you all the power you need to run your favorite appliances, but the outlets don’t do much to add style to the space. Consider hiding them alongside undercabinet lighting or tucking them under the counter of your kitchen island. You can also integrate them into the backsplash by turning them sideways to complement horizontal subway tiles. There are even vertical outlet systems available that push down into a countertop with a press of your finger, leaving only a small pull tab visible on the surface.
6. Cozy Flooring
If your remodel includes new flooring, amp up the cozy factor with radiant heating. Loops of pipes filled with liquid are installed below the flooring material of your choice. Connected to your heat pump or boiler, radiant floors add extra warmth and comfort on cold winter mornings. Radiant flooring is an investment that pays off with lower heating bills as well. Not ready for radiant? Try eco-friendly cork flooring. The harvested bark is a renewable material that naturally resists moisture, and it’s soft and comfy underfoot too. Cork has a rich, natural appearance that makes it an ultra-stylish material choice for your Long Island home as well.